An anonymous reader writes: Using the Kinect's low-cost 3D sensor, researchers are able to record real-time facial expressions from a person looking at the computer and then transfer them to a 3D digital animation. The face-tracking software takes lower-resolution input from the Kinect and maps it to a higher-resolution digital animation. Because it doesn't require intrusive lighting or complex scanning hardware, this kind of animation could become available to consumers. This research paper has been submitted to the Siggraph 2011 conference to be held in August.